I was reading a blog this morning and saw a recipe I wanted to try. It’s one from Mix and Match Mama that she called Butterscotch Beer Bars. I didn’t have any beer open in the house, but I *did* have some Boordy Vineyards Rockfish, a lovely dry white wine that’s made with a blend of Pinot Gris, Albariño, and Seyval Blanc… would that work in this recipe? I decided it was worth trying and began pulling things together.
NOTE: These directions are originally written by Mix and Match Mama but I included my own adjustments and/or changes along the way. I’m sure I’ll be trying her original recipe with Samuel Adams’ Boston Lager soon!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup butter
• 3/4 cup butterscotch chips
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• pinch salt
• 1/2 cup + 1 T dry white wine (save 1T for frosting)
• 1 8oz package of softened cream cheese
• 2 cups powdered sugar (I used 2 1/4 cups)

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 350*
• Grease a 9×13 baking dish – I lined a 9×13 pan with nonstick foil instead, so I’d be able to more easily transfer the bars out of the pan for frosting later.
• In a microwaveable bowl, melt butter and butterscotch chips together, stopping to stir every 30 seconds. Once melted, set aside to cool slightly.
• In a mixing bowl, beat eggs with sugar. Once these are well-incorporated, beat in your melted butter/butterscotch mixture and beat well.
• Add salt to the flour and slowly add into your batter, beating well.
• Mix in your 1/2 cup wine (I put my mixer on low speed and drizzled it into the batter) just until it’s incorporated.
• Pour mixture into your prepared baking dish and bake 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Note: Mine took closer to 35 minutes but the original recipe called for 25-30 min.
• Remove pan from oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.
• To make frosting, beat soften cream cheese with powdered sugar and 1T wine with an electric mixer. I needed to add the extra 1/4 cup of powdered sugar so it wasn’t too thin. Mix and Match Mama says you can substitute milk for the alcohol if you prefer.
• Frost your bars, cut and serve. NOTE: I cut mine into smaller squares and was able to get 32 individual servings (or 16 double-piece servings).
• Store these in the fridge or freezer.

My thoughts? I really liked the taste of this bar. It’s dense enough to be called a bar, but lends itself closer to a cake than a cookie. I will need to try this recipe as it’s intended (with beer) but I thought this version was a fun way to use up some of the wine that I find in my fridge from time to time. The recipe didn’t take long to make and came together easily.

I would highly recommend using non-stick foil. It was very easy to remove from the pan, frost, and then place the entire recipe on a baking sheet to pop in the freezer. Once frozen, I will be able to transfer these treats into baggies for gifting later.

Enjoy!